Skillpoker Launch

[pippen]

I gotta be honest....I tried the site and it seems to play pretty well, in the free play. I think you need to just read the rules of the explanation of the skillpoker part...I played in a couple of tournies and they weren't too bad. It seems as though the negative is stemming from disgruntled investors....the product doesn't seem to bad. If I am in left field, please shed some light for me.

Thanks,
Pip

[joe van]

Don't you think that learning the skill poker odd ball rules is going to mess up your regular game?

I'd also be a bit concerned about the new ways that the new rules let sharpies get a little extra advantage. Just my opinion but the game doesn't look to be designed by someone with any experience in online poker day to day operations. I could be wrong since I also don't have such experience [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[RiverMel]

What are you talking about? Is the actual play any different, or just the way the $ is handed out? e.g, would it ever change your decision to raise, call, or fold in skillpoker versus another site?

[crazy canuck]

Pippen, while I agree that the idea is an interesting one, my main problem (as it was pointed here) is that it's hard to prevent collusion.

[Terry]

I guess this needs to spelled out in detail for some people to “get it.”

The format on SkillPoker is duplicate Hold ‘em, as in duplicate Bridge. Four tables, four players each. The players in seat #1 at all the tables get the same hand, the players in seat #2 at all the tables get the same hand, ditto #3 & #4.

So, here we go. I sign up and am in seat 1/ table 1. My buddy is in seat 2/table 2. His buddy is in seat 3/table 2. His sister’s uncle’s girlfriend’s hairdresser’s stepson is in seat 4/table doesn’t matter. We all know what every other player has, because every seat at each table has the same cards, and we are telling each other what we have, be it with instant messaging or telephones or we are all sitting together in an internet café in Bergen. In effect, to us, all the cards may as well be dealt face up.

Get the picture? The concept is doomed. And it appears there are questionable business dealings with the company to boot.

[joeypoker789]

Doomed sounds about right.

The concept of duplicate holdem might have actually worked in a B&M where you'd have easier control of table to table cross talk. Online how ever is a disaster compared to regular poker -- online with regular poker cheaters can know what your hold card isn't however with the skill version, cheaters can know what your card is exactly.

I guess the skill in this new site is the skill of finding all the new opportunities for collusion.

[Copernicus]

I find the concept that "duplicate poker" eliminates luck to be ridiculous. Yes, it eliminates the luck of the cards, but that is the minor portion of poker "luck" imo. That luck averages out over time. What doesnt average out, and what isnt solved by skillpoker's format, is the luck of what opponents you face on a particular hand.

Two Group 1 players gets AKs and go all in UTG. Their "skill" in playing this hand is identical. But at Table 1 the Group 2 player with 66 calls and spikes a 6 on the river. At Table 2 the Group 2 player folds, believing that you don't risk an entire tournament on a coin flip. The Group 1 player at Table 1 picks up points despite the skill being identical. Also the Group 2 player at Table 2 has made a better tournament play imo, but loses because he folded when he would have spiked a set.

This differentiates skill? BS. Make a bad decision at the right time (eg go all in with a 2 outer and only blinds in the pot, but hit one of your two outs) and you win, make the sensible play and you lose.

[cmwings]

Happy to shed some light for u, pippen.

Party, Stars, Paradise, UB, Ladbrokes, prima, and several others...sites that do NOT have open forum disgruntled "investors", exclusive of disgruntled "players"...all sites will have those!

Continue fielding yer mitts at skillpoker.com, you will forever remain in left field.

cmwings/mrducks

[DeliciousDi]

Is all-in UTG with AKs a good idea in NL Hold'em?
In skillpoker, maybe it is, maybe it ain't.
What is your ranking in your group? What are the stack sizes of the opponents at your table? Can you risk seeing a big stack AA coming all-in against your AKs all-in? If you have most of the chips at your table and at least 66% of the chips in your group (or something along those lines) then go all-in if you want to, but why? You don't need what you will most often get (the blinds) and you don't need a lot more chips in your group ranking, so why not try to limp on around looking for the absolute nuts for an all-in?
If you are low in your group ranking or beginning to slip, then why not 2X the pot or so to get some chips in there before your all-in, hope for a raise and then go all-in with your AKs? Maybe your group opponents went all-in UTG and won the blinds, which makes you very happy because you got those extra chips.
And I would hope that the player with a small stack and 66 would call my all-in AKs every time - that's how I make my money!
Of course if that 66 went all-in in front of me, I would call only if that player had a small stack and I had a very large lead in group ranking so, either way, Mr. 66 is not going to profit much from me and I'm not going to seriously damage my ranking.
Skillpoker is indeed different and requires a different way of thinking, but I enjoy playing it at work, I win a lot of the 8 player tournaments and, after all, it is (at least for now) a freeroll. A freeroll! Nothing to get your knickers in a knot about. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[joeypoker789]

Another blast from the past here... Check out this WSJ article on skillpoker.

http://webreprints.djreprints.com/850891355932.html

Looks like the WSJ may have picked-up on the discussions in this forum regarding the collusion problem with the skillpoker format as well as the remaining elements of chance.

An interesting enough article. I still don't like the skillpoker site or spin.

When I see what solid players do in a game with lots of "fish", well, its is pretty obvious that poker is already a game of skill. Silly rules and modes of play don't add but IMO subtract from the skill opportunities.

One wonders why the WSJ even did this story. I don't see it.